Alan Venn

February 7, 1943 August 17, 2013 Son of the late Edwin and Cecilia Venn; Brother of the late Paul and Teddy Venn; Father of Sean and Sarah Venn; Friend of many Alan was born at home in Mill Hill, London England. He grew up with his brothers and 4 cousins, Reggie, Frank, Brian and John. He attended an all boys primary and grammar school where he met long time friends Don, Gerald, Martin and David. He always mentioned the happy times he had with his family touring around Europe in their caravan. After finishing school and before he came to Canada, Alan worked as a salesman in the middle east selling business suits and long underwear. He came to Canada arriving in Ottawa in 1969. He studied Political Science at University of Guelph. He made his way to the west coast with stops in the prairies. He lived and worked for a time in Vancouver. He eventually moved north to Prince Rupert where he worked in the fish canneries and was tired of smelling like fish so became a firefighter at the Prince Rupert Airport. In 1979 he met Cheryl and they were married in 1981. Alans job transferred him to the Victoria Airport and together they moved when Sean was 1 month old. They lived in Sidney and Central Saanich for a short time before moving to their home in Saanich 1983. Alan was always involved in workers rights and union matters during his years of work. Eventually he become Union President and was successful in bringing worker issues to the forefront by shutting down Victoria Airport for 1 day. Alan was a wonderful supportive father. He was active in sports, coaching soccer teams for both Sean and Sarah. He was an avid golfer, loved to be outdoors and especially near the sea. In 1996, Alan struck out on his own after retiring from the Airport Firehall. He began to explore his spiritual side and found he was fascinated with astrology and theatre. Theatre became his passion, he loved performing and making people laugh, and he was good at it. He performed in many productions with various theatre groups in the community. Alan was involved with the Corporate Golden Piggy Awards for 14 years. His cheeky but realistic outlook on life and the world made him the perfect MC for this annual event. Alan was diagnosed with cancer in the spring of 2010. He loved life and fought hard, but eventually it overpowered him. He will be dearly missed by family and friends. He is off to a better place where he can eat and tip a few with old friends and family who have passed on and scratch Curious behind the ear. Please join us for a celebration of life for Alan. Bring photos and memories to share. Saturday, August 24, 2013 at 12:00 noon at the Harrison Yacht Pond in Holland Point Park on Dallas Road at the foot of Government Street in Victoria.